The 25-year-old woman found dead at the bottom of a 90-foot hill in Garfield on Tuesday was shot to death, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday.
Police would not say Wednesday whether they had any suspects in the death of Kala Thomas, whose body was found Tuesday night in a wooded area behind her apartment in the 800 block of North Atlantic Avenue.
Ms. Thomas was a dedicated mother to two sets of twins, family said. She had 8-year-old and 3-month-old twins, said Tanneya Arrington, aunt of the 3-month old twins. Her home was always open and neighborhood kids often spent time there, Ms. Arrington said.
“I just want to know why this happened to her,” she said. “She didn’t deserve this. She is the kindest person I ever, ever knew.”
Ms. Thomas was reported missing to police about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, city police spokeswoman Sonya Toler said.
Ms. Arrington said Ms. Thomas did not answer a call on Saturday night, although at the time Ms. Arrington thought nothing of it. She said Ms. Thomas, who became a mother at 16, wasn’t one to party frequently.
“No drama, no beefs, no anything,” she said.
Ms. Thomas’ Facebook page is full of pictures of her children, especially the 3-month-old twins. They were born prematurely in February, Ms. Arrington said, and were hospitalized for some time before Ms. Thomas could bring them home.
She was not married to William Arrington, the father of the younger twins, but the pair had been together, on and off, for four or five years, Ms. Arrington said.
She said she last saw Ms. Thomas at a family gathering around Easter. They played cards, and everything seemed normal.
Shelly Bradbury: 412-263-1999, sbradbury@post-gazette.com or follow on Twitter @ShellyBradbury.
First Published: May 25, 2017, 4:08 a.m.
